ƒ EOC

Activation ƒ Fire
ƒ Equipment ƒ HazMat
Tracking ƒ Emergency
Management
ƒ Law Enforcement

Emergency Operations Center:

Equipment Inventory and Tracking

SUMMARY
Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs) should establish an equipment inventory and a
tracking mechanism for all equipment loaned out to other government entities. Effective
equipment tracking will ensure that loaned equipment can be quickly recovered during an
emergency.

DESCRIPTION
Emergency Operations Centers are usually activated only during a declared emergency. As
a result, equipment is often stored in closets or loaned out to other agencies when the EOC
is dormant. On the morning of September 11, equipment from the Arlington County EOC
was on loan to other Arlington County agencies. Most importantly, laptop computers had
been assigned to a countywide capital improvement task force. The computers’ primary
function is emergency use and full activation of the EOC would have been difficult without
them.

When the EOC was activated, county officials were able to quickly recover the laptops that
had been loaned out because records of the transaction had been kept. This quick recovery
demonstrated to EOC officials the importance of tracking all equipment used during an
emergency. An EOC equipment inventory should be maintained, and records of any
equipment loaned to other agencies kept so it can be quickly recovered, according to the
after-action report.

CITATION
Titan Systems Corporation. Arlington County After-Action Report on the Response to the
September 11 Terrorist Attack on the Pentagon. May 30, 2002.
(http://www.co.arlington.va.us/Departments/fire/edu/about/docs/after_report.pdf)

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